Product Review: Bringrr Smart Car Charger – Leave No Phone Behind!

Want to see a Mom or Dad freak out? Take away their cell phone and send them out for the day. Oh the things that could go wrong. What if Jimmy gets sick at school and they need to reach you? What if the school gets sick of Jimmy and they really need to reach you? Yes, forgetting your cell phone at home, is what my kids call, a bummer.

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) we learned about the Bringg – a car charger that promised to remind you if you tried to drive away without your trusty cell phone. We picked it as one of our top gadgets for parents, but held off on making a recommendation until we had a chance to test it out in the real world. Well, we have tested the Bringrr Charge and we have the video to prove it –

Bringrr – Because It Sure Beats Taping Your Cellphone To Your Head

Setting up the Bringrr Charge is pretty straightforward. You plug the Bringrr into your car’s power port. You need to turn the Bluetooth on on your phone and do a one time “pairing” with the Bringrr. The instructions walk you through the process and our fairly clear. One tip, you need to have the car started – engine running for the Bringrr pairing to take place. At first we tried to do it with the car on (power on, radio on) but the engine not started. For whatever reason, we could not pair it until we started the car.

Once you do have the Bringrr setup, you really never need to do anything else again. You start your car, the Bringrr wirelessly searches for your phone, if it finds it the light turns blue and all is cool. If you do not have your phone, the Bringrr sounds an alarm and turns red (all shown in the above video…you did watch the video, right?). There is also a USB port on the Bringrr so you can charge your phone, camera, GPS or iPod.

Does the Bringrr work? Yes! You start the car and in a few seconds you know if the cell phone is in the car or not. I think my blood pressure drops about 10 points when I see that blue light and hear that reassuring tone that seems to say, “The rest of your day may suck, but at least you have your phone.”

A Few Minor Issues With the Bringrr

Our biggest gripe with the Bringrr is that you can not pair it with more than one phone. You can imagine the possibilities for marital fights when a Mom and Dad need to figure out whose phone is more important and should be paired the Bringrr. If you and your wife always travel in different cars, you could each get a Bringrr for your car, but really, if you and your wife never travel in the same car, you have bigger issues than remembering your cell phone.

Our other issue really has more to do with our cellphones than the Bringrr. In order for the Bringrr to work, Bluetooth must be enabled on your phone. On my iPhone, battery life is always an issue, and keeping the bluetooth on does drain the battery a little faster. On the other hand, since the Bringrr Charge is also a charger, you can plug your phone into the Bringrr and charge your phone while you drive.

Conclusions on Bringrr Smart Car Charger:

As we have said about a thousand times before, two of our requirements for a great gadget for Moms and Dads is that it needs to be easy to use and should make a parents life easier and/or better in some way. The Bringrr absolutely meets these criteria and is a great gadget that we can firmly recommend for Moms and Dads. I have been using it for a few weeks and have not left my cell phone at home yet. Now, if only there was a device that reminded me to take my sanity with me when I get in the car.

More Information: The Bringrr Charge Sells for about $40. Read More At the Bringrr Site

FULL DISCLOSURE: We were sent a Bringrr to use and review. We were paid absolutely nothing for doing this review. We do not make any money if you decide to buy a Bringrr. If you invent the Bringrr Kids – as shown in our video, you need to pay us $1 Million dollars… all in $2 bills. This is a real review, by a real Dad!

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